How Nigerians can cope with the current economic recession

The news in Nigeria of late has been filled
with many words, but one that scares
everyone most is the word: Recession. There
have been rumors that the Nigerian economy
was facing a rapid downturn over a long
time, but right now, those rumors have
graduated into fact.
Recession in Nigeria has affected foodstuff
prices
The prices of foodstuff, of staples and other
things Nigerians use from day to day have
skyrocketed. The panic is spreading slowly as
people are finding it difficult to afford food
and other important things.
How though can families and individuals pull
through this economic recession
successfully?
1. Budget
During this recession, it is vital to spend
wisely. One key way to do that is to have a
budget. Whether as a family or an individual
that lives alone, a budget needs to be created
for food, drinks, clothes, internet, recharge
cards and so on.
The budget should not only be created, but
should be adhered to. Setting a fixed amount
for each need will help you cut down on
impulsive spending and help you stay on
track. Living without a budget, might make
you start borrowing money just a few days
into the new month.
2. Foodstuff
Reduce drastically the amount of times you
eat out. Even if you have to eat out once in a
while, you might need to cut down on what
you spend. One way to do this is to get a lot
of foodstuff. Stocking up the house with the
basic things you eat daily like rice, beans,
garri and so on will help reduce spending.
Also, you have to be willing to cook.
Laziness, when it comes to cooking, is one
big problem that most people face, especially
single people. However, it has been proven
that eating out eats deeper into your budget
than having home-cooked food. So you might
have to bring out those cooking skills.
3. Save up
The economic recession might take a while
before the turn-around comes. So it is
important that you save up for the days when
the rain falls harder than it is now.
So if you are working with a budget, then you
should come up with a savings plan for the
future. A well-funded savings account can be
just the extra needed to meet bills and/or the
inevitable emergencies that life throws at us.
So even within the recession, it is important
to save up.
4. Cut Back
The recession is a time to cut back, not
borrow more money. So it is important that
you cut away as many extras as possible.
Money spent on entertainment, time at the
mall, cinemas and other things you can do
without should be cut back on.
It might be tempting to borrow, to keep up a
certain lifestyle, but the recession is not the
best time for that. So the best move is to cut
back on all the frills.
For businesses, the following steps should be
taken to keep them afloat during a recession:
5. Downsize
Downsizing maybe inevitable at this point for
many businesses. So it is important that you
do a headcount, decide who you can do
without and then take the very painful
decision to let some people go.
You might have to change schedules and do
other things to increase productivity of your
business, even with less the amount of staff.
6. Reduce your overheard cost
it is important to reduce inventories and
overhead at any cost. You should monitor
your inventory for items that do not move
frequently.
Note that that is where your cash is locked
up, in your cost of materials, labor, and so
on, waiting to be turned into cash after it’s
sold and the receivables collected. This can
cause loss of cash that is not good for a
business during this recession.
On a final note:
7. Watch out for sales
Once in a while,online sales companies have
sales, when you can get fashion items and
home appliances at a far cheaper price. So
be on the watch for this sales, they are great
times to save money.
You can also buy in markets, instead of
boutiques and malls.
Hopefully, the recession will pass soon, but
meanwhile, Nigerians should start learning to
how to cope.
From naij.com